Cabbie murder pre-trial begins
Posted May 9, 2011 10:07:01 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A Dartmouth Provincial judge will hear testimony from the lead investigator in the shooting death of a Ukranian cab driver as the preliminary inquiry gets underway Monday.
Chaze Lamar Thompson, 20, of Dartmouth is charged with first degree murder in the January 2009 shooting death of 40-year-old Sergei Kostin.
Crown attorney Eric Taylor says he intends to call 10 witness over the next four or five days, including firearms and DNA experts.
“Today we are going to begin with the investigator,” Taylor told News 95.7 outside the courtroom Monday. “He’s going to lay out the case, how the investigation proceeded. He’ll do that for the benefit of the judge, so the judge can put that into context.”
Judge Ted Tax is expected to hear testimony from a person who witnessed the shooting during the afternoon.
If enough evidence is submitted the case will go to trial in a Nova Scotia Supreme Court.
Kostin went missing Jan. 17, 2009 after he picked up a fare on Gaston Road in Dartmouth. He was employed by Bob’s and Blue Bell Taxi.
Police found his burned-out cab on Jan. 20 in North Preston. Kostin’s body was discovered in wooded area in North Preston in April 2009.
